Chapter 901:5-52 Gypsy Moth

It has been determined that a highly destructive insect known
as the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, has become established in parts of Ohio,
that it has become necessary to quarantine the state of Ohio, and to adopt
rules 901:5-52-01 to
901:5-52-07 of the
Administrative Code to prevent or retard the spread of this pest into, within,
or from this state.

(A)
'Associated equipment" means any article
incidental to the use of a mobile home and recreational vehicle, including by
way of example, but not limited to: awnings, tents, outdoor furniture, trailer
blocks and trailer skirts.

(B)
"Block" means a contiguous area of land, whether owned by one, or more than
one, person.

(C)
"Block
coordinator" means the primary contact person for correspondence and other
activities regarding the treatment of a block for suppression of the gypsy
moth.

(D)
"Certificate" means a
document issued by an inspector which allows the movement of regulated
articles.

(E)
"Compliance
agreement" means a written agreement between a person engaged in growing,
selling, processing, or moving regulated articles, and the Ohio department of
agriculture setting forth specified measures to be implemented by the person to
prevent the spread of the gypsy moth.

(F)
"Federal quarantine areas" means states
or portions of states quarantined for gypsy moth by the United States
department of agriculture under
7 CFR
301.45 .

(H)
"Infestation" means either the presence
of the gypsy moth in any living stage, or evidence that the gypsy moth is
present in any living stage (egg, larva, pupa, adult).

(I)
"Inspector" means an employee of or any
other person authorized by the state of Ohio, another state, or the United
States department of agriculture to enforce the provisions of a quarantine for
gypsy moth.

(J)
"Mobile home"
means any vehicle, other than a recreational vehicle, designed to serve, when
parked, as a dwelling or place of business.

"Regulated articles" are those products or commodities that
have been demonstrated to harbor and transmit various life stages of the gypsy
moth, when such articles are situated within or in proximity to an infestation.
Specifically:

(A)
The gypsy moth,
Lymantria dispar, in any living stage of development (i.e., egg, larva, pupa,
or adult).

(F)
Any other products, articles,
or means of conveyance, of any character whatsoever, when it is determined by
an inspector that a life stage of the gypsy moth is in proximity to such
articles, thereby presenting a risk of spreading the gypsy moth, and the person
in possession of those articles has been so notified.

(A)
Areas
designated as "gypsy moth regulated areas are those counties, or portions of
counties, where one or more gypsy moth infestations are known to exist at
levels which pose a risk of spread to non-infested areas of Ohio and other
states.

No common carrier or other person shall move from any regulated
area (as defined by rule
901:5-52-04 of the
Administrative Code) or from any federal quarantine area any regulated article
(as defined by rule
901:5-52-03 of the
Administrative Code) except in accordance with the conditions specified herein.

(A)
A certificate must accompany the
movement of regulated articles from any regulated area or from any federal
quarantine area into or through any non-regulated point in Ohio. A copy of the
certificate must be forwarded to the Ohio department of agriculture within
seven calendar days of movement. Certificates may be issued by an inspector if
the regulated articles:

(1)
Have originated
in non-infested premises and have not been exposed to infestation while within
the regulated area or federal quarantine area; or

(3)
Have been
treated to destroy any infestation in accordance with approved procedures; or

(4)
Have been grown, produced,
manufactured, stored, or handled in such a manner that no infestation would be
transmitted thereby; or

(5)
Will
be handled, utilized, processed, or treated at the destination in such a manner
that their movement will not hazard a spread of the gypsy moth.

(B)
There are no restrictions
imposed on the movement of regulated articles within regulated areas or within
federal quarantine areas, provided they do not transit any non-regulated points
in Ohio.

(C)
As a condition of
issuance of certificates for the movement of regulated articles, any person
engaged in purchasing, assembling, exchanging, handling, processing, utilizing,
treating, or moving such articles may be required to sign a compliance
agreement, stipulating that he will maintain such safeguards against the
establishment and spread of infestation and comply with such conditions as to
the maintenance of identity, handling, and subsequent movement of such
articles, and the cleaning and treatment of means of conveyance and containers
used in the transportation of such articles as may be required by the
inspector. Any compliance agreement may be canceled for failure to comply with
the provisions of this quarantine or any conditions imposed pursuant thereto.

Any properly identified inspector is authorized to stop and
inspect, without a warrant, any person or means of conveyance moving within the
state of Ohio upon probable cause to believe that such person or means of
conveyance is carrying infested articles; and, such inspector is authorized to
seize, treat, destroy, or otherwise dispose of articles found to be moving in
violation of this chapter. Items will be destroyed only if it is determined by
any ODA inspector that destruction is the only feasible method to avoid
transportation of the life stages of gypsy moth.

When feasible, areas found infested, or which are so situated
as to be subject to infestation, such as campgrounds and roadside rests, shall
be treated to eradicate or otherwise suppress the infestation to whatever
extent possible.

(a)
Signs and submits an
agreement to participate in the program pursuant to paragraph (E) of this rule;
and

(b)
Submits payment of the
total cost to be assessed to that landowner pursuant to paragraph (E) of this
rule; and

(4)
Sufficient funds are available to allow the department to administer the gypsy
moth suppression program for the year for which the request is made;

The department will have the block in which the landowner's
property is located treated for suppression of gypsy moth pursuant to its
contract with the aerial applicator.

(B)
A block may be eligible for inclusion in
the gypsy moth suppression program if:

(1)
The block is located within the regulated area of the gypsy moth quarantine, as
set out in rule
901:5-52-04 of the
Administrative Code; and

(2)
The
block is comprised of no less than fifty contiguous acres of treatable area;

and

(3)
The tree canopy covers no less than fifty per cent of the block; and

(4)
No less than thirty-five per cent of the
tree species within the block boundary is comprised of tree species which are
designated as susceptible or resistant to gypsy moth on the list of species in
volume II, appendix D of the final environmental impact statement, issued by
the United States department of agriculture dated November 1995. This list is
set out as appendix C of this rule; and

(5)
The density of gypsy moth egg masses
within the block is no less than either:

(a)
Two hundred fifty egg masses per acre in a residential forested area; or

(b)
One thousand egg masses per
acre in an uninhabited forested area; and

(6)
The block has received a favorable
assessment review by the Ohio department of natural resources and the United
States fish and wildlife service.

(C)
A block may be eligible for participation
in the gypsy moth suppression program if the director has received the
following on or before the first day of September of the calendar year
immediately preceding the year for which treatment for the block is sought:

(1)
A completed application, the form of
which is attached to this rule as appendix A. An application shall be deemed
complete when it contains each of the following on a form prescribed by the
director:

(a)
The full name, mailing address
and daytime telephone number of the block coordinator; and

(b)
The full name and address of each
participating landowner owning property within the block; and

(c)
The township or municipal corporation in
which the block to be treated is located; and

(2)
A map detailing the boundaries of the
block to be included in the suppression program. This map shall:

(a)
Clearly outline all boundaries for each
property forming the block to be treated; and

(b)
Identify by full name the owners of each
property contained within the block to be treated; and

(c)
Show the scale used when drawing the map.
This scale shall be one of the following:

(i)
For blocks less than two hundred acres in size, the scale shall be one inch
equals two hundred feet; or

(ii)
For blocks greater than or equal to two hundred acres, the scale shall be one
inch equals four hundred feet.

(D)
When calculating the total cost to be
assessed to a landowner, the department shall:

(1)
First determine the total cost per acre
to the department for gypsy moth suppression activities for the year that the
landowner's block is proposed for treatment, given the preferred pesticide
product to be used within the landowner's block. The total cost per acre shall
be calculated by determining the total expense of aerial spraying for gypsy
moths to be incurred by the department in that year for the preferred pesticide
product to be used in the block, divided by the number of acres proposed to be
treated in that year using that same pesticide. The total expense of aerial
spraying for the suppression of gypsy moth shall be calculated per the current
contract between the department and the aerial spray contractor.

(2)
Multiply the total cost per acre
calculated pursuant to paragraph (D)(1) of this rule by the number of acres
that the landowner has requested be treated. In no case shall the total cost to
be assessed to a landowner exceed fifty per cent of the department's cost to
treat the block in which the landowner's property is located

(E)
A landowner whose block has
been approved for inclusion in the gypsy moth suppression program shall sign an
agreement, the form for which is attached to this rule as appendix B, and
submit the signed agreement with payment equal to the total cost assessed to
the landowner as calculated under paragraph (D) of this rule to the department
on or before the first day of March of the calendar year in which the treatment
is sought. If the agreement and payment equal to the total cost assessed to the
landowner are not received on or before the first day of March, the treatment
may not be scheduled.